Twenty-one-year-old Christopher Warnig really wants to be a Democrat. He's studying political science at Broward College. He loves MSNBC and adores our Democratic representative, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The youth is filled with so much zeal for democracy that he's even decided to take a shot at a spot on the Broward County Commission.
The only problem? Christopher Warnig, apparently, really wants to be a police officer too.
He's been arrested for impersonating a cop twice.
Land of the free!
Here's the skinny: In October 2011, Warnig was arrested in Brenton, Pennsylvania, after he made three separate traffic stops on female motorists over a period of several months.
Warnig, who was a volunteer firefighter at the time, had installed red and blue emergency lights on his 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. (Cutest cop car EVER.)
Local authorities slammed Warnig with three counts of false imprisonment, two counts of displaying improper lights, and final counts of impersonating a public servant and disorderly conduct.
"The incident in Pennsylvania was, in fact, dismissed and expunged due to the fact the police department and borough was at fault for allowing me to do it," Warnig posted in the comment section of the Daily Broward, which originally broke the story.
It continues. In February of this year, the college student was arrested again in Wilton Manors for -- you guessed it -- impersonating a police officer.
A third-degree felony, Warnig was charged with unlawful use of a police badge, possession of handcuffs, and falsely impersonating an officer. According to court records, only the charge of impersonating an officer is pending.
Everyone chill, explains Warnig, who's also clocked time as an EMT. All of this isn't a big deal. He's a trained professional. "My neighbors were fighting," Warnig posted. "I ran out to respond to the yelling call for help -- as trained to do so as an Emergency Medical Technician/Firefighter -- and verbally attempted to separate the two individuals."
He said Wilton Manors police misconstrued this action as attempting to impersonate an official authority.
(It's possible the fake badge and handcuffs could have been a clue as well.)
Vote Warnig!
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